Japo watu watabisha kuhusu Kenya kusherehekea ushindi wa Obama, its
best to let them celebrate what they believe to be their own.Obama will help
Kenya hands down hata kama watu watasema vengine.That man is intelligent
enough to know that if he doesn't people will call him out on that. Kenyans
dont expect any handouts of anykind but its just the pride of having somebody
who has affiliations to their country leading the most powerful nation in the world.
Obama knows his father is from Kenya and he knows his family in the village of Kogelo
and that is why he has been there severally in his lifetime.Najua kuna wabongo kibao
ambao kwao vijijini hawataki kuenda na ukiwauliza wanakwambia eti huko ni Tanganyika
na sio Tanzania.Kwa hivyo upeo wa Obama uko at another level when it comes to
affiliations with his family.
Meanwhile just to show you the ineptness of our leaders and their policies, it
took Obama to be elected for the village of Kogelo to get electricity ASAP.
Kwa hivyo boma lao litafaidi lakini pia shule na local trading center itakua na
umeme which in turn facilitates trade.Kwa hivyo folks in this village can say
that Obama's election in the US made them get electric power in a time when
they didn't expect to.
Sleepy Kogelo village transformed overnight
Kenya Power and Lighting Company workers connect the village of Kogelo to the mains on Thursday.
By DANIEL OTIENO and WALTER MENYA
Posted Thursday, November 6 2008 at 20:59
The Kogelo village and the Obama family have undergone a complete metamorphosis, literally.
The change was evident immediately after the man whose roots are in the village became the leader of the worlds most powerful nation, the United States of America.
Talking to Mr Barack Obama, according to his brother and family spokesperson, Mr Malik Abongo was an ordinary affair before Thursday.
Everyones lips
We spoke last night, he told us he was doing great. He was happy that we are fine. We congratulated him and wished him well in the new challenges that come with the presidency, said the first born son of the Obama family.
Although grandmother Sarah Onyango Obama did not speak to the media on Thursday, all she could say to visitors who had come to congratulate her was Nyasaye duong (God is great).
And despite the rainy day and the muddy paths, the once sleepy village hosted thousands of visitors on Thursday, driven by a curiosity to see the roots of the man whose name is on everyones lips.
The world spotlight is firmly on the hitherto sleepy village because President-elect Obamas late father, Mr Barack Obama Snr, was born here.
According to Luo customs, a child belongs to the father, hence the strong bonds of kinship to the American president-elect in Western Kenya.
A second bull and several goats and sheep were slaughtered on Thursday as celebrations entered the third night.
Bearing gifts
And one of Prime Minister Raila Odinga aides, Mr Samuel Aduol delivered five bulls from his boss with a congratulatory message that he (the PM) would be visiting soon.
Busloads of students and curious visitors from as far as Tanzania and Uganda drove to the village, with some bearing gifts for the family.
American nationals in Kenya also thronged the home in what they described as an encounter with the roots of the man who now holds the worlds destiny in his hands.
Although the Obama family said on Thursday that they would not like to be treated differently, the signs point to the fact that they are no longer simple villagers.
We can no longer account for who is who in the home people danced the night away and todays holiday gave many an opportunity to come to the home, said Mr Abongo.
Before Wednesday, the road leading to the homestead was a bumpy path that was a drivers nightmare whenever it rained. But by Thursday, it had miraculously been cleared and levelled.
Kenya Power and Lighting Company was expected to have connected electricity by Thursday night. This is a complete contrast to the situation when Mr Obama visited three years ago.
Then, Mama Sarah lived in a semi-permanent house which has since been rebuilt and is sparkling from a fresh coat of paint.
The compound, which was surrounded with indigenous shrubs, has since been fenced and boasts a police post manned 24 hours a day by eight officers.
The police were deployed to the home after thieves tried to steal the familys solar panel.
Siaya District Commissioner Boaz Cherutich on Thursday said that security had been beefed up to cope with the influx of visitors.
The main road passing through the village to Bondo town, which was until last week no more than a dusty and bumpy path, has undergone major repairs in what Mr Abongo last week said was just but a sign of things to come.
Not shed light
The family draws water from a well at the corner of the homestead but in the new scheme of things, this is likely to be a thing of the past.
The nearby Nyangmo Kogelo secondary school acquired the name Senator Obama Secondary School soon after Mr Obama was elected to the US senate.
School officials could not shed light on whether the name would be changing to President Barack Obama High School.
The village has suddenly become the most well known in the Western Kenya region, if not in the world, as visitors come from near and far to see the home and the people from whose lineage came the first African-American president.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/...z/-/index.html
